Knights Riders and Super Kings to kick-off IPL 2022 in a lip-smacking contest

A prolonged wait for one of the most rollicking blockbusters in the fabric of Indian cricket is all set to unravel for its fifteenth edition as the 2021 finalists lock horns to kick off IPL 2022.

Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will be playing out the first contest of the annual franchise extravaganza that will see both the teams coming to the hallowed fray with renewed vim and vigor and most importantly with new interests on the horizon.

Even before the rivalry kicks off, the war between these two sides has been fragmented into small battles between individuals wherein an unfinished business for the Knights will also be playing a part at the back of their head.

Both the teams will be coming to the clash with two new captains taking charge as Indian middle-order batter, Shreyas Iyer will be leading the Knights while Ravindra Jadeja will be spearheading the defending champions.

In an unexpected development, MS Dhoni gave up his captaincy to the Indian all-rounder, pinning hopes for a better future and continuation of Chennai’s impressive legacy.

CSK will be coming to this contest without the likes of Moeen Ali as he has arrived on Thursday and will not be available for the opener. Kolkata Knight Riders will be without their star bowler, Pat Cummins as he is currently involved in the Australia-Pakistan series. Chennai will also have to make do without Deepak Chahar as it is still unknown when he will be back from injury.

With all the misses enlisted already, Kolkata will be buoyed by the return of Andre Russell who couldn’t be a part of the last year’s final due to injuries. Chennai, on the contrary, will be banking heavily on the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad who will be opening the show for the reigning champions.

Venue watch:

Wankhede has always been a batter’s paradise and the team batting second has come out on top on most of the occasions. Ideally, with the dew setting in, batting gets even easier for the teams chasing. In the last 13 games, teams batting second have won the contest a staggering 10 times. Also, with the shorter boundaries in the frame, the teams batting first will have to pump out at least a total of 180 to stay afloat in the contest. However, the express bowlers may savor some early success considering the presence of the red soil on the surface that will be conducive for an additional pint of bounce.

Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Shreyas Iyer, Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Chamika Karunaratne, Baba Indrajith, Ashok Sharma, Pratham Singh, Abhijeet Tomar, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammed Nabi, Aman Khan, Umesh Yadav.

Chennai Super Kings:

MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, K Bhagath Varma.

Match details:

Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue: Wankhede

Date: 26th March 2022

Time: 7:30 PM IST